Greenpoint Food Market » Markets of New York

Photo of the Day – August 18, 2011: Kings County Jerky Company

I grew up thinking that beef jerky meant Slim Jims, tubular bombs of weird meat and salt, sometimes filled with orange cheesefood product. It got weirder when we were working in Mozambique and tried some South African biltong made from ostrich and even game culled from the herds in the big game parks around the country. It was all salty and fairly tasty, but weird.

Thank heaven for the New York artisanal jerky movement that has taken root over the past couple of years. At the forefront is the rich, complex, and deeply satisfying beef jerky from the Kings County Jerky Company. I remember first seeing their jerky at the fabulous food free-for-all formerly known as the Greenpoint Food Market, but they were sold out by the time we squeezed up to their table.

Lucky for us, they have continued to grow in popularity because of their diligence and talent in producing luscious meat products, and even a stunning vegetarian jerky made from fat portobello mushrooms. Their three main flavors are the peppery Classic, the sweet Korean BBQ, and Sichuan flavored Orange Ginger. They are all a mouthful of flavor, and I’m especially partial to the Orange Ginger. The story gets even better because they use grass-fed beef sourced from local farms, and no artificial flavorings. I’ve seen photos of their amazing new kitchen space, and I’m hoping to do our first Kitchen Tour photo shoot there soon.

You can find Kings County beef jerky at the fabulous food markets of NYC: Saturdays at Smorgasburg and the Brooklyn Flea in Ft. Greene, and Sundays at the New Amsterdam Market. Artisanal is the new beef jerky. Or something like that.

Pumpkin & Honey Bunny: Handmade Greeting Cards and Fizzy Sodas

Vendors of the Week for the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market!

Erica Rothchild and Anton Nocito are the team behind Pumpkin & Honey Bunny and P&H Soda and Syrup. It sounded like a cute and sweet name to me, and then I learned that the original Pumpkin & Honey Bunny are the robbers in the opening scene of Pulp Fiction. Gives the name a bit of a different twist, wouldn’t you say?

Erica is a graphic designer who makes beautiful hand-printed greeting cards, and Anton makes old-fashioned artisanal sodas. The theme that ties these two pursuits together is a sense of nostalgia for the early 19^th century that lends an Old World feeling to their work. In Erica’s designs, it is her use of vintage images, like a toast rack or a classic jello-mold. Anton aims to bring back the flavors and culture of old-time soda fountains, where people gathered for a chat, a nosh, and phosphate, or a cold soda freshly made from syrup and seltzer.

Erica’s line of greeting cards currently features primarily food-based themes because she began selling them at the Greenpoint Food Market. She uses a Gocco, which is a Japanese tabletop screen printing device. Erica’s Pumpkin & Honey Bunny cards include images of a pretzel (“Tying the Knot”), an old time oyster vendor, and a cherry pink pie (“Sweetie Pie”), among others. She is working on new designs for the Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Market, including Mother’s and Father’s Day cards. You can also find her cards at several shops in Brooklyn, including Brooklyn Kitchen, Tree House, Tiburon, and Word Bookstore.

Anton trained at the French Culinary Institute, and he is the chef at the cafe at the AKA Hotel in Midtown. He launched P&H Soda and Syrup at the Greenpoint Food Market, and he found that he could barely keep up with the demand at last week’s market. I had the cream soda, which was the perfect blend of sweetness, fizzyness, and cream soda flavor. Anton uses natural ingredients, including organic sugar and fair trade ingredients like hibiscus and ginger, as well as sugar alternatives like agave. In addition to the classics like cream soda and ginger lime, he likes to experiment with flavors, including hibiscus, hyssop, and verbena. He is working on a sarsparilla right now. In the summertime, he uses fruits from the farmers market to make new flavors for his syrups.

On one hand, Anton modestly says, “It’s just soda.” On the other hand, P&H Soda & Syrup has a great deal of thought and craft behind it. Personally, I can’t wait for him to open his soda fountain, but in the interim, I’ll be happy to drink his sodas at the Brooklyn Lyceum Market. He is also giving a soda making class on May 20th at the Brooklyn Kitchen.

You can see Erica’s cards on her Pumpkin & Honey Bunny Etsy Shop, and you can keep up with Anton on his blog, P&H Soda and Syrup, Inc. Meet them both at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Food and Craft Market on May 1 & 2 and also at the monthly Greenpoint Food Market.

Greenpoint Food Market – Not Your Average Church Bake Sale

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Last Saturday, James and I made our way to the basement of the Church of Messiah to check out the Greenpoint Food Market. We began to get the distinct impression that we were latecomers to this hidden gem the minute we saw the crowds rubbing their bellies as they came outside.

I wasn’t sure what to expect beforehand, but I was mightily impressed by what we found at this monthly artisanal food market. There were samples galore, and I filled my market bag with some pretty amazing things. The first vendors we met were Pumpkin & Honey Bunny, who together sell artisanal sodas and syrups and hand-printed greeting cards. More about them in an upcoming post, but suffice it to say that the large icy cream soda was a great thing to carry around as we jumped from cupcakes to kimmchi to chocolate and on to pickles as we ambled down the aisles. There was great music playing by The People’s Champs.

The branding and presentation was impressive pretty much across the board, as was the level of innovation. There seems to be a surge of artisanal pickles these days, and one that caught our eye was Sour Puss Pickles, whose delicious pickled beets and relishes were intense and savory. The Wasabi Sunseed organic vegan nut paté from Cobra Paté was probably the most unusual item we tried, and it was delicious. Their milder varieties include Walnut Maple Lavender paté, Carrot Cashew Ginger, and Sundried Tomato Almond. And then there was Bacon Marmalade. It’s pretty much brunch in a jar, deliciously sweet and savory.

There was an abundance of sweet things as well. Fresh from the cover of Edible Brooklyn magazine’s winter issue was Amelia Coulter and her Sugarbuilt cookies. Not only were they works of art to look at, but her lavender flavored samples for the Greenpoint Food Market were fresh and buttery. If you need to tweak your Nutella habit, try Bean & Apple’s chocolate and salt caramel spreads. Try each one or combine them – they’ll make you weak in the knees. On our way home, we bit into a perfectly moist chocolate cake pop from La Tia Faby.

I can’t even tell you how many amazing things we tried, not to mention the ones we missed because we couldn’t get through the crowd to get to the tables. But that just means we’ll have to go back next month!

Fun Valentine’s Day Events at the Markets this Weekend!

Whether love is in the air for you or not, there are some great artisan and food events planned for this weekend. Clearly Brooklyn “hearts” Valentine’s Day! (Check the Markets of New York City Facebook Page for updates!)

Greenpoint Food Market: A Food Affair
Saturday February 13^th, Noon – 5:00 PM
Church Of Messiah
129 Russell St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn
http://www.greenpointfoodmarket.wordpress.com/

Greenpoint Food Market is a monthly event people who are “inspired by all foods fresh and local, artisanal and handmade.” This weekend’s Valentine’s event, “A Food Affair” is a mix of innovative foods and food-related items. (Personally, I’m kind of excited about the Kissing Booth!)

“The day will feature a cascade of lovely treats: from aphrodisiac inspired recipes to heart shaped cookies, a photo kissing booth courtesy fellow Greenpointers Color Me Katie and Hyla Skopitz, a secret foodmirer bulletin board to share your food crushes and indulgences, and a heart-hunt: find the heart, win a GFM goodie bag. We are also very pleased to present music by DJ Jimmy T and a performance by Rifle Recoil @ 3pm. We are also grateful to add to a growing list of food-related artworks by artists Jessie Oleson and Jesse Kuhn who will share a few prints on food and love!”

Valentine Fling – Brooklyn Indie and The NewNew
Saturday February 13
11:00 AM – 6:00 PM at Starting Artists
211 Smith Street (at Starting Artists), Brooklyn
Brooklyn Indie Market
The NewNew

The Brooklyn Indie Market is partnering this weekend with the NewNew Artisans for a Valentine’s Day Art Bazaar:

“Valentine’s Day can strike dread in the heart of the hardiest New Yorker: If you’re coupled, there’s the delicate dance of aligning your own celebratory expectations with those of your beloved; if you’re unhappily single, all the emphasis on romance can be special kind of torture. In response to this, Brooklyn Indie Market and The {NewNew} are joining forces to present A Valentine Fling: A day of fun, flirting, and handmade shopping on Smith Street.”

Park Slope/Gowanus Market and the Makers Market at the Old American Can Factory
Sunday 11 AM – 5:00PM
232 3^rd Street at 3^rd Ave, Gowanus/Park Slope Brooklyn
Community Markets
The Makers Market

The partnership between the Makers Market Artisans and Community Market’s local farmers continues this weekend. You will definitely get all your Valentine’s Day shopping done here: top quality handmade gifts, dinner ingredients, and wine included!

“Kiernan Farm Grass Fed Beef is joining the market. Along with their fabulous grass fed beef meat, they’ll offer honey, maple syrup and Sprout Creek Cheese! Manhattan Milk is selling farm fresh products including cream-top grass-fed yogurt, yogurt smoothies, milk and eggs! Adair Vineyard is offering their array of Hudson Valley wines and Made by Molly is featuring chocolate chubbies with roasted, salted almonds!”

Artists and Fleas: Valentine’s Day with a Twist
Saturday and Sunday, February 13-14, 2010 at 12:00pm – 8:00pm
Artists & Fleas: Indoor Artist & Designer Market
129 N 6th St Between Bedford and Berry in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
www.artistsandfleas.com,
Facebook Event Invitation

Artists and Fleas in Williamsburg has great handmade and vintage items every weekend, but this weekend’s special “Un-Valentine’s Day” is bound to have something special for everyone!

“Artists & Fleas kicks off another year of de-cupid-ifying events. Want to shop for those you love or those you no longer love? Get on your spite with some of the delicious delinquency that the folks behind Dirty Bandits have cooked up. They know that life can sometimes throw you a curveball and the only way to live is to play.”

Pop-Up Shop: Liddabit Sweets & Kumquat Cupcakery
Open now through Sunday February 14, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Kill Devil Hill, 170 Franklin St (between Java and Kent Sts), Brooklyn, NY
Time Out New York Announcement
Kill Devil Hill Blog
Kumquat Cupcakery
Liddabit Sweets

Two sweethearts of New York’s artisanal food world, Liddabit Sweets and Kumquat Cupakery, are teaming up this weekend to open a Pop-Up Shop at Kill Devil Hill in Brooklyn. Their Valentine’s Day specials include 1 or 2 dozen rose and gem min-cupcakes or a box of handmade chocolates and candies. They’ll also have their most popular items to satisfy even the bitterest sweet tooth!

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone from Markets of New York City! ♥